If it wasn’t clear after the first day of the Presidents Cup, it definitely became evident on Friday that the competition was intensifying. With the putt that shook the world, Byeong Hun An and Si Woo Kim topped the cake that was the Internationals’ Friday with a cherry. But, according to Byeong Hun An, the International team had a very special night even though it did not focus on ways to get back into the competition.

Speaking about gearing up for the second day, An revealed the odd preparation that helped them come into the second day all guns blazing. He said, “We had a great night. I know we had a tough day, but golf is just golf. We were all about the families. It matters, but it doesn’t mean anything.” It seems that the trick to beating the stars of the USA Team is having fun with the family and not caring too much about golf.

He further elaborated, “We’re all having a good time out here. To be honest, it could not be better than yesterday. Yes, we won, but team atmosphere yesterday was amazing.” It goes to show then that sport can get very competitive and very serious for people, but even for players of such a high level, it is never the most important thing for them. Indeed, he revealed, they almost had a party that night.

As for the day after their successful comeback, he said that there would be dinners and probably parties all through the next three days. One could be questioned for celebrating after a heavy loss, but it seems to have worked for them and they may go on repeating it and winning more matches. Another reason he said that they were not too worried is because they always believed in themselves and never doubted their abilities.

Team International certainly made golf fans and their supporters very happy with their performance on Friday. But what exactly did captain Mike Weir pull off this complete turnaround?

Inside Mike Weir’s strategy for Day 2 of the Presidents Cup

Mike Weir had said all the right things after the first day’s sweep by the Americans. He said that this was just the first day and there was a long way to go. He had a plan for the tournament with the pairings, and that remained unchanged for him.

Although foursomes have never been an International side’s strong suit in the Presidents Cup, they have now flipped the script and won all their matches. And it all started with Weir’s plan. The plan was always to have Tom Kim sit out on the second day and send out Matsuyama and Sungjae Im in the first match, even though Im did not make a birdie on the first day. Another part of the plan was pairing up the Canadians, Corey Connors, and Mackenzie Hughes, on their home soil.

The plan seems to have worked great with Im and Matsuyama winning by a huge margin of 7 and 6 and Connors and Hughes with 6 and 5. For Weir now, the main objective is to not let the momentum fizzle out and come out with a strong performance on Day 3 where they will be playing a total of 8 matches before heading into a Sunday of 12 one-on-ones where anything can happen.